How much is your mobile bill this month? How does $218 trillion sound?

According to MSNBC, a Malaysian man was slapped with a U.S. $218 trillion phone bill just last week. He was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution.

Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January, which is when he settled the 84-ringgit (U.S. $23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.

However, he was sent the staggering bill for 806,400,000,000,000.01-ringgit (U.S. $218 trillion) for recent telephone calls along with the threat of imminent legal action by Telekom Malaysia.

Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company. On condition of anonymity, a company official said that Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. At the moment, it's not clear whether the bill was illegally chalked up.

Understandably, Yahaya was in a combative mood. "If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted him as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it."

Obviously, it must have been some colossal foul-up with Telekom Malaysia's billing system. However, I cannot help but wonder how many more minor mistakes could have inadvertently been passed off to consumers who foot the bill without the realization that they are overcharged.

About Paul Mah

Paul Mah is a writer and blogger who lives in Singapore, where he has worked for a number of years in various capacities within the IT industry. Paul enjoys tinkering with tech gadgets, smartphones, and networking devices.

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Paul Mah is a writer and blogger who lives in Singapore, where he has worked for a number of years in various capacities within the IT industry. Paul enjoys tinkering with tech gadgets, smartphones, and networking devices.